All Through the Night

One Chilly Winter Morning

In the biting dark cold
I sense the phantoms at the crossroads.
With hopes of not being intrusive,
I try to broach the spirits of the past, present and future
Craving their tutelage on how to save this old village.

This community can never be Shambhala
But it need not be inhospitable any more.
It must be made into a home.
The soldiers resumed their attack this morning;
Braving the winter to annex more moral ground.

While the army of demonic guerrillas stifle a better tomorrow,
The denials and insecurities of the placated villagers are;
However, strong armour
But only dulling the swords of their own defenders.
This place will not be easily won.

15 thoughts on “All Through the Night”

It’s a nice winter image in the middle of the summer heat. My English is not enough to understand the text in full, more just a melancholy feeling I can get. I am not snow man although I can see that it’s beautiful with the new snow. But paradoxically I like when it’s cold. Right now, we have the perfect here in Stockholm where some Sun, some rain and comfortable temperature. 18-20 degrees.
If my constant companion -headache still could give up, I would clearly feel the top.

The weather is rarely normal now. And who knows why. The one day we have global warming, and the next day we read that it is soon is the mini ice age is here. And I think that it is just so. Everything changes of course.

Love this picture and also the article on Barton and Sherman you did. Not many people can see the good side in the neighbourhood. But it really is a diamond in the rough. Growing up there born in 1982 I was lucky enough to see Barton street thriving. With small local family run shops. But it went all vacant. Family bread winners were losing jobs. Steal town was losing their steal industry jobs. Drugs started to move in. Addiction drugs and depression took over. Second generation Italian families didn’t want to live in the area their parents once built. It was sad to see. Some originals stayed as their children left to grow in other parts of Hamilton. The forgotten part of Hamilton will rise again. You already see more and more lights going on in the vacant store front. Really great to see makes me happy. Thanks again for the article and pictures. Great work. Was wondering if I would be able to purchase the photo named “all through the night”?

Joe, sorry it’s taken me a few days to respond to this. My wife and I are in the middle of moving; things are hectic.

This whole city is exactly as you said . . . “A diamond in the rough.” I’m glad that you are still proud of Steeltown. Yes, it take a beating from non-residents but its the inhabitants that have proven themselves to be the worst critics.

Most people hoping for change agree that gentrification is needed for areas like those of Barton and Sherman, and both citizens and City Council have already begun to work toward such improvements in varying ways. It will take years to accomplish. That’s for sure but in your opinion, what are the top three things that need to be tackled in order to increase that momentum?